


Always

by That_Supernatural_Fan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action & Romance, F/M, Fanfiction, I can't decide who she ends up with, Marvel Universe, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2018-07-14 06:58:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7158464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_Supernatural_Fan/pseuds/That_Supernatural_Fan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claire Cross, a former SHIELD agent wants to find out the truth behind the murder of her parents which started her on the path to become known as one of the 'Avengers'. Claire will uncover hidden secrets that Hydra kept buried deep while trying to help the infamous Winter Soldier who wants to recover his past and correct his present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“I told you Sam would be late.” Claire teased, grinning across at Steve as she took a large swig of her beer.  
“Yeah, yeah…” He chuckled, shaking his head.  
Claire glanced around the bar, looking at the old décor that was hanging on the walls. It was old. Really old. She could understand why Steve liked it so much, why he always ended up here. It reminded him of the old times. Not that she minded. The beer was good, service was quick, and it was a little getaway for them all. To get away from all their responsibilities and the pressure from work. They liked the distraction of meaningless conversations about last week’s scores from football, or constantly teasing Steve about his lack of modern knowledge. ‘I’m doing just fine’ he’d say’, but watching him try to work a laptop was enough to know he wasn’t doing so great, even with the long nights when she’d spent in his apartment trying to help him..  
Claire grinned at him. “So how much are you gonna tease the poor guy for the Falcons losing last week?”  
He laughed, shaking his head. “Like you won’t do the same..”  
Claire paused, narrowing her eyes. “Okay, you caught me out there.”  
“I’m glad we’re both Saints fans. There’s no… Rivalry.” He smiled.  
“Stevie, we still have rivalry. Remember last month? The whole… Xbox catastrophe.” She gave a mock shudder, grinning over at him.  
There was a pause while Steve stared at her, a little dumbfounded. “You cheated.”  
“I did not!” She laughed. “You’re just not great at video games yet.”  
“I still don’t understand why someone would want to play a game where you’re in a war. I’ve been in one and they’re not fun.”  
Claire rolled her eyes. “Steve, it’s a video game.” She reminded him gently.  
“They’re stupid.”  
“They’re fun!”  
“What are you two arguing about now?” Sam chuckled, sitting beside Claire in the booth.  
“Oh y’know, just about how bad the Falcon's lost.” She smirked over at Steve before glancing at Sam, who turned to her, blank faced.  
“It hasn’t even been thirty seconds.”  
She shrugged. “I work fast.”  
Steve chuckled. “You want another beer, Claire?”  
“Yeah, sure.”  
“Alright. Sam?”  
“Please.”  
He nodded and headed up to the bar, unconsciously straightening up as he neared it.  
“I’ve discovered why Steve likes to meet up on Friday nights.” Claire grinned, watching him go.  
Sam smiled. “And why’s that?”  
“The cute redhead that works here. Her name’s Christine. Very nice and… Very old fashioned. Quite fitting for our little super soldier…”  
He laughed, shaking his head. “I thought he just liked the bar.”  
“Well he’s a liar. And if he doesn’t ask her out on a date I will.”  
“I don’t think he needs you to do that for him.”  
“What?” She glanced back over. “No, I’m talking about myself. She’s hot.”  
Sam chuckled lightly, looking down at the table. Claire noticed he was tapping his fingertips against the table. That was a bad sign.  
“Sam, what’s wrong?”  
He pursed his lips and clicked his tongue, stalling. She repeated his name a little more loudly and he sighed, reluctantly sliding a small folder onto the table. When he spoke his voice was quiet. “He’s back in the country.”  
Claire frowned, opening the folder and picking up the first pixelated picture. She traced her finger over the distorted image of a man. “That’s… Him?”  
He nodded slowly. “That’s the last I’ve got.”  
Claire sighed, picking up the other photos and looking through them. “These were taken yesterday? Where?”  
“Manhattan.” He muttered.  
“That close?” she raised an eyebrow, surprised.  
“Yeah… The last photos we had of him were from Russia…”  
“So what the hell is he doing back here? He hasn’t been in New York in two years.”  
Sam sighed, looking at her. “Maybe he wants to be found.”  
“What, so you’re telling me after all this time, after chasing him from country to country, he now wants to be found.”  
“We don’t know what’s happened to him in the last two years…” He murmured, his voice dropping as Steve came back with their beers.  
“Are you two oka-” Steve stopped as he spotted the folder, putting the beers down and picking up one of the photos. “Are these new?”  
“Steve.” Claire sighed. “He’s in Manhattan. But maybe he doesn’t want to be found. Not yet at least.”  
He looked up at her slowly, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “Are these new?” He repeated.  
“Ste-”  
“Answer me!” He snapped.  
“They are.” She said quietly. “But I think I know what he’s doing…”  
“You do?” Sam murmured.  
Claire sighed. “Steve just sit down, please…”  
He inhaled slowly and sat down, frowning when he saw Christine staring over at him from the bar. She turned back around quickly when she spotted him looking at her.  
“I think he’s retracing his steps.”  
Steve looked over at her, frowning. “What?”  
“We know he’s remembering things. So what if he’s trying to put it all together. Going back to the places to try and work everything out.”  
Steve sighed, shaking his head. “I need to find him.”  
“Steve, maybe he doesn’t… Need you yet.”  
“He’s my best friend.”  
“He WAS your best friend.” She corrected gently.  
He glared at her, clenching his jaw.  
“A lot has changed. Seventy years have gone by and he’s been the Winter Soldier for most of it. He needs a lot of help but what if he doesn’t want it from us?”  
“What are you trying to say?”  
Claire closed her eyes, sighing. “We’ve been searching for him for two years and nothing has happened. Maybe we should-”  
“Stop?” Steve interrupted. “Just stop looking?”  
“Maybe Claire’s right.” Sam said quietly. “Maybe if he wants us he’ll let us know. But for now… Maybe we should just call off the search.”  
Steve shook his head, standing up. “I can’t give up on him.”  
“Steve-”  
“I can’t. I won’t.”  
There was a pause as they stared at eachother, before Steve shook his head, stalking out of the bar and letting the door slam shut behind him.  
“Great…” Claire sighed.  
“Just give him some time.” Sam said quietly, picking at the label on his beer.  
“This is Steve we’re talking about. He’s gonna do something stupid.” She muttered, standing up. “Go home Sam. I’ll talk to him.”  
“You sure?”  
She nodded slowly. “I’m sure. I’ll talk to you later.”  
He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Okay…”  
Claire walked out quickly, trying to catch up with Steve. “Steve, wait!”  
He ignored her, walking a little faster to try and get away, but she grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Can you just listen to me for a minute?!”  
“You have no idea!” He yelled, turning to her. “He’s my friend! I thought he died because of me but instead something worse happened!”  
“I get it, okay!? You want to help him! But maybe we’re not the best thing for him right now!”  
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “He’s my friend…”  
“I know.” She said gently. “But maybe he needs to help himself first… And then we can step in-”  
“He’s a wanted man.” He interrupted. “If we don’t find him first someone else will. Hydra are still out there. The Government know who he is and what he’s done…”  
“Okay.” She whispered, nodding. “C’mon let’s just… Go back to your apartment.”  
“Claire, I don’t need you to-”  
“Shut up.” She sighed. “If we wanna find Bucky we have to work fast.”  
“You don’t have to do this.” He murmured. “I shouldn’t have pulled you and Sam into this in the first place.”  
“We offered actually. We wanted to help. Now stop making excuses and start walking.”  
He stared at her for a moment before his shoulders slumped a little and he gave a resigned sigh. “Okay…”  
She gave him a small smile and started to walk beside him, trying to ease the tension a little. “So when are you gonna ask her out?”  
Steve glanced at Claire nervously. “What?”  
“You know exactly who I’m talking about.”  
He sighed, looking down. “It’s complicated.”  
“No it’s not Rogers. You make it complicated. You like her, she likes you. It’s simple.”  
“She likes me?” He asked quickly, glancing over at her.  
“You really have never gotten laid before, have you?” She chuckled. “How many dates have you actually been on?”  
“I…” He faltered. “A few.”  
“Okay then. Name the lucky girls.”  
“Well… There was Peggy and…” He shrugged awkwardly. “A couple others…”  
“Oh Stevie…” She smiled gently, grinning. “You have so much to learn…”  
“I thought you’re suppose to be helping me with Bucky. Not bringing up my failed attempts at relationships.”  
Claire shrugged. “It’s just casual conversation as we walk. You want me to ask Sam if he can bring the files over?”  
He nodded. “Please.”  
Claire got out her phone and sent a quick message to Sam.  
‘Sup Bird, I’ve calmed the senior citizen and I need you to bring the files over. I’m pretty sure he’ll offer you a beer if you’re nice to him.’  
She got a quick response. ‘Okay blondie, let me finish my beer and I’ll be right over.’  
Claire smiled to herself and put her phone away. “He’ll be over soon.”  
“Okay.” Steve murmured. “Thanks…”  
“No need to thank.” She smiled gently. “We want to help Steve. You know we do.”  
“I know. And I appreciate it.”  
She grinned, punching his arm gently. “Don’t go too soft on me now.”  
He raised his hands with a smile. “I’m just being a gentleman.”  
“Yeah yeah…” She chuckled, looking around as they walked up the fronts steps to the entrance of Steve’s apartment. “You’re literally Captain America and you decide to live in an apartment complex in Brooklyn…”  
“Just like the good ol’ days.” He smiled, holding the door open for Claire.  
“And you live on the top floor.” She added.  
“Nothing wrong with some stairs.”  
“Coming from an enhanced super soldier.” She grinned, beginning to walk up the flight of stairs.  
“Some exercise won’t hurt.” Steve smiled gently,  
Claire rolled her eyes. “You sound just like Natasha.” She groaned.  
Steve chuckled and grabbed his keys from his back pocket. “You want a coffee?”  
She shook her head. “I’ll be up all night.”  
“Okay.” He smiled, opening the front door for Claire.  
“Always a gentleman.” She teased, pinching his cheek as she walked into his apartment and took her jacket off, hanging it up before walking through to the living room.  
“Yeah, yeah…” He chuckled, closing the door. “You sure you don’t want anything?”  
“I’ll just have a glass of water.”  
Steve nodded and walked into his kitchen while Claire sat down on the couch. She smiled up at the painting hanging above Steve’s TV - an old fashioned canvas she’d bought him last year for his birthday. It was in the style of a comic book cover of Captain America and the Howling Commandos, with Steve and Bucky leading the group. Initially, she hadn’t been sure he’d like it, but the next day it was hanging up. He thought it fit his style of apartment just right.  
Steve wandered into the living room and passed Claire her water.  
“Thanks.” She smiled as he sat down beside her.  
He smiled back at her gently before looking down at his lap.  
“Steve?” She asked quietly. “You okay?”  
“Hhm? Yeah I’m fine…”  
She sighed, taking a sip of her drink before putting it down on the table. “What’s wrong?”  
“Claire, I’m fi-”  
“Don’t lie to me.” She cut across him sharply, before her voice softened again. “Talk to me Steve…”  
He looked up at her slowly. “What… What if I can’t save him? What if he doesn’t want me to?”  
“We can help him…”  
“How do you know that for sure? I know I can’t abandon him. He is-was my best friend…”  
Claire sighed quietly and put her hand over his. “We’ll figure this out…”  
“The Government will probably lock him up.” He said quickly. “Lock him up for things he couldn’t control. He was forced and he didn’t have a choice. It’s not fair.” His hands clenched into fists on his lap.  
“I know…” She soothed, squeezing his hand gently. “We can help him. We will find a way…”  
Steve looked up at her slowly, a line appearing between his brows. “Why are you helping me?”  
“What?”  
“He… We both heard what Zola said…”  
“Steve, don’t-” He cut her off quickly, trying to finish his sentence.  
“Your parents-”  
“Stop!” She snapped, pulling her hands away and, standing up. “Stop trying to make me talk about it!”  
“Claire, we’re just worried-”  
“You’ve been talking about this with the others!?” She span back to look at him.  
“I didn’t know what to do! I can’t imagine how you’re feeling…”  
She shook head, turning away from him. “I’m over it.”  
He exhaled slowly before getting up and reaching for her. “This isn’t something you just get over…”  
“I haven’t even told Lucas.” She blurted out. “My own brother. He doesn’t know that the explosion wasn’t an accident.” She ran her hand through her hair shakily and started to pace.  
Steve sighed, grabbing her arm gently to stop her. “It’s okay-”  
“He killed my parents!” She snapped, pulling her arm away sharply. “Maybe the only reason why I want to help him is because I want answers!”  
“I… I wouldn’t blame you if it was…” He admitted.  
Claire laughed coldly, rubbing her face. “This is a fucking mess…”  
“I…” Steve paused when he heard a knock at the door. “I guess that’s Sam…”  
“I’m just gonna go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”  
“Claire, please…”  
She quickly grabbed her coat and put it on. “I need to be alone. I can’t deal with this right now.”  
“I’m sorry for bringing it up.” He whispered.  
“I know you are.” She sighed. “I just… I need to go…”  
Steve inhaled slowly as he sat back down. Claire opened the door and paused when she saw Sam standing there, the folder held tightly in his hand. “You got my beer ready?”  
She rolled her eyes. “Ask Steve.” She muttered as she pushed past him.  
Sam watched her leave before turning back to Steve. “So… What did I miss?”


	2. Chapter 2

“I see you had a productive night…”

 

Claire groaned and lifted her aching head up, spotting Wanda standing in the doorway of her room. “What?” She grunted.

Wanda shook her head and stepped further into the room, picking up an empty whiskey bottle off from the floor beside Claire’s bed. “Steve’s called me five times, and you…” She grabbed her phone from the nightstand. “Twelve times… He told me what happened last night.”

 

“Go away Wanda.” She mumbled into her pillow. “Just let me sleep…”

“Your brother called too.” She said lightly, tilting the whiskey bottle so the last dregs of alcohol caught the light.

 

Claire’s head shot up.. “What time is it?”

 

“11:30.”

 

“Ah shit…” She groaned, grabbing her head as a sharp pain shot through her skull.

 

“I’m guessing you were supposed to meet with him.” Wanda murmured, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I…” She sighed. “Yeah I was… He’s gonna kill me.”

 

“It’s fine, we spoke and he’s on his way here.”

 

Claire narrowed her eyes, suspicious. “He called you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Since when has he had your num-” She paused, looking over at her. “Wait a second… My birthday party a few months ago..”

 

Wanda rolled her eyes, turning away. “Get dressed Claire.”

 

“This conversation isn’t over.” She murmured, rubbing her temple slowly as Wanda dropped the empty bottle in the bin before leaving. She sighed and sat up slowly, stretching as she looked around her room, hoping for a few seconds the pain in her temple would fade. She didn’t remember much from the night before. She knew she’d come back to the Avengers compound, pissed off after arguing with Steve for what felt like the hundredth time. Since they started looking for Bucky she’d noticed how it was straining their friendship - the pressure of trying to find him was stressing both of them.

 

Maybe it was because they wanted to find him for different reasons; Steve wanted his best friend back, the person who he grew up with and one of his last connections with his old life. For Claire, it was getting answers from him about her parents, about why Hydra wanted them both dead. She wasn’t sure how she was going to react if they ever found him. She knew that he had no choice - Hydra forced him to do everything in his record, but she couldn’t help but feel some hatred for him. He’d shot Natasha, nearly killed Steve. Bucky had the chance to kill her when she found Steve washed up on the shore of the river, barely alive and breathing. She remembered how he just stared at her, his eyes filled with confusion, and some guilt. And Claire just stood there and stared back at him completely speechless. She didn’t know if he was there to finish off Steve once and for all. But as Bucky stared down at him for the last time and walked away slowly she didn't stop him.

 

And she didn’t understand why.

 

“Should I make some food?” Wanda called from the kitchen. “You haven’t got a lot of… Anything in here…”

 

“I’ll improvise.” She frowned, grabbing some clean clothes and tugging them on slowly. “I haven’t had time to buy groceries this week.”

 

Wanda walked back to Claire’s room slowly and leaned against the doorway. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong-” She grunted.

 

“I know when you’re lying. I don’t even need to look into your head to know that.”

 

Claire sighed, sitting down on the bed and looking down at her lap. “We’ve been looking for him for months and we’re getting nowhere.”

Wanda wandered in slowly and sat down beside her. “Maybe you should take a break from it for a while.”

 

“You know I can’t-”

 

“Yes you can.” Wanda interrupted. “You and Steve have been fighting more. We’ve all noticed it. We’re worried about both of you.”

 

Claire looked up at the ceiling tearfully. “He killed my parents and I can’t let that go…”

 

“I know.” She whispered, smiling sadly. “I’ve been there.”

 

She looked down at her, frowning. “Does the pain ever go away?”

Wanda sighed quietly, thinking about it for a second. “Not really. Just… Feel grateful you still have your brother.”

 

“I’m sorry Wanda…”

 

“It’s fine.” She gave her a small smile. “I have another family now.”

 

“Pietro would be so proud of you. You know that, right?”

 

Wanda paused before nodding slowly. “Yes… I do…”

Claire wrapped her arm around her shoulder. “How about a girls night tomorrow? You, me, Natasha, Maria if she’s free?”

 

“What about Pepper?”

 

She grimaced. “That wouldn’t be a good idea…”

 

“So… They’re not together anymore?”

 

“As far as I know, yes.”

 

She frowned. “That’s too bad. She was nice…

 

“Maybe they’ll sort it out eventually? I know Tony was crazy about her.” She shrugged. “We’ll have to see.”

 

Wanda nodded and stood up. “I should get going. I have training with Vision.”

 

“They only person who equals you.” She chuckled. “Go. I’ll talk to you later.”

 

She nodded, reaching out and squeezing her hand. “Take care of yourself.

 

She smiled. “I will.”

Claire laid back as Wanda left, sighing loudly to herself as she stared up at the ceiling. “Pull it together.” She whispered. “You’ve got this.”

 

The doorbell rang a few minutes later, and when she pulled open the door she was glad to see her brother.

 

He raised a paper bag he was holding tightly in his hand. “Greasy sandwich with a side of fries. Your hangover food right?”

 

Her smile faded and she looked at him guilty. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”

 

“Get smashed last night?” He chuckled. “I’m not angry. I just wish I got an invite. Where did you go?”

 

“Uh…” She glanced back at her apartment. She hadn’t bothered to clean up yet, so the apartment was strewn with her clothes and empty bottles.

 

“Oh…” He straightened up slightly. “By… Yourself? You know that’s kinda-”

 

“Do you want me to let you in or not?” She said sharply. “Because I will grab that bag from your hand and slam the door in your face.”

 

“Okay! Sorry…” He laughed, stepping inside. “I’m just teasing. I’ll have a beer if you have any left.”

She closed the door behind her and stalked over to the fridge. “You’re in luck.”

“Awesome.” He grinned, sitting down at the island counter and grabbing the food from the bag. The smell made her mouth water and her stomach churn at the same time, and for some reason she was having vivid flashbacks to college.

 

“So what happened last night?”

 

“It doesn’t matter. Just work stuff.” She said quietly.

 

“I thought being an Avenger would be fun?”

 

“Well… There’s loads of paperwork.” She joked, passing him his beer as she sat down beside him.

 

He watched her in silence as she picked up her sandwich.“You wanna talk about?”

 

“I’ve done enough of that.” She mumbled through of mouthful of food. “Honestly I’m fine.”

 

“Is it because of what Wednesday is?” He said.

 

She paused, staring at her table and swallowing a painfully large mouthful of food. “Claire?”

Slowly, she put her sandwich down on the plate.. “I… I wasn’t even thinking about that…” She whispered.

 

He frowned, grasping her hand gently. “It’s okay.”

 

She pulled her hand away, breathing in shakily. “It’s not… I-I’ve just been so busy… Being fucking so vengeful…”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

She shook her head quickly, looking up at him.. “It doesn’t matter. Maybe you should just go…”

 

“Claire-” He sighed, frowning at her.

 

“Please, I have a headache and I just need some more sleep.”

 

Lucas stared at her for a moment before packing his food, biting the inside of his cheek. “Y’know I get it. You’ve lost people, so have I. Maybe you like to deal with the anger and the pain alone. But sometimes it’s nice to talk about it. About all the happy memories they gave us. I know losing Tom was really hard for you, but you can’t keep shutting me out like this.” He stood up and looked down at her. “And sometimes it’s nice to talk about mum and dad too.”

 

She stared at him tearfully. “Lucas, I’m sorry…”

 

“I know you are.” He said quietly. “But you just bottle everything up. One of these days you’re gonna explode.”

“I…” Claire closed her eyes, frowning as she heard Lucas storm towards the door and slam it behind him.

 

She inhaled slowly, wiping her face as she threw away the food and went back into her bedroom.

 

Claire grabbed a box from under her bed slowly, wiping off the dust that had settled on top. She inhaled slowly as she opened it, suddenly feeling like she was travelling back in time. It was filled with old movie tickets she never threw away, pamphlets to places she travelled to, and all of this was with… Him. She reached into the bottom and pulled out a handful of old photos she printed after he was reported MIA after that mission in Novosibirsk, Russia. She was with him, along with Natasha and Clint. They were a unit. Every mission was a success.

Apart from this one back in 2011. She didn’t know what went wrong. One moment he was next to her, joking around as they came to the end of their mission. The next they were thrown away from each other in an explosion. She woke up at a SHIELD facility a few days later back in New York, but he was missing. She knew, along with the others, that he was gone. That there was nothing to be found of him. She felt sick just thinking about it, and her vision started to get blurry as her eyes filled with tears. She traced her finger across a picture of him. It was from their vacation to Paris. He was standing outside the Louvre, taking a photo of the attraction to send to his parents. God, she hadn’t spoke to them in years. It was too hard to keep in contact with them. She loathed the horrible small talk she had with them. They barely mentioned Tom, like he never existed. She hated it at first, but now she’s just like them. All she had left of him was a small box of junk hidden under her bed. And the engagement ring she kept in the top drawer of her nightstand.

She felt like she was going crazy. Maybe Lucas was right. One of these days she was going to explode.

 

A ladies night would do her some good.


	3. Chapter 3

“So… Clint, Vision and Steve. Who would you fuck, marry, kill?”

Claire threw her head back as she laughed, covering her face with her hand. “This is so unfair! How come you went to easy on Wanda!?”

“Because she blushes every time I mention someone with a little muscle. Now answer.”

“Oh God…” She bit her lip, tapping her fingers against the wine glass she was holding.   
“I’d… Have to kill vision. He’s not really my type. Clint can farm, he’s good with kids obviously so I would marry him. Then I guess I’d have to show Steve the ropes.” She smirked, winking at Natasha. “So I’d fuck Captain America.”

She chuckled, clinking her glass against Claire’s. “I would have to agree with that.”

“I don’t know…” Maria pursed her lips. “Clint can be an annoying... and y’know, Vision is quite the gentleman…”

“So… You’d kill Clint and marry Vision?”  
Maria took a sip from her glass before answering. “Probably.”

“Don’t tell Clint that, you’d break his heart.” Natasha laughed.

“And what about you Wanda?” Claire teased, nudging her gently. “Everyone else has answered.” 

“I…” She coughed awkwardly, blushing. “I guess I would agree with you…”

“Oh really?” Claire grinned over at the other two.

“Yes.” She shrugged, blushing harder.

“How about we make this interesting?” Claire giggled. “Fuck, marry, kill… Lucas!”

They all stared at her for a few seconds. “You’re suppose to say three names.” Maria pointed out.  
Claire shushed her before looking back at Wanda with a grin. “I know you like him…”

Wanda sat back on the sofa and folded her legs under her lap. “I do like him, yes…

“Then ask him out!” She grinned, sitting back too.

“Oh he already did. We went on a date last week.” She said nonchalantly, shrugging.

Claire stared at her, dumbfounded. “W-wait, what?”

“He took me out for dinner at a diner called… Johnny-”

“Johnny Rockets!?” She yelled,clicking her finger.

“Yes that was it.”

“We went there all the time as kids That’s so romantic…” She pouted, sitting back on the sofa. 

Wanda blushed as she hid her smile behind her wine glass. “He’s quite the gentleman.”

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Wanda nodded. “You sound surprised.”

“Well I just…” Claire glanced at the others before looking back at her. “He’s clueless. He surely messed up something.”

“Nope.” She shrugged, smiling. “It was… A lovely evening.”

“Oh boy...” Natasha murmured, finishing off her glass. “We need more wine.”

Claire nodded, putting her glass down on the table. “I should have another bottle in the kitchen. Hold on.”

Claire walked into the kitchen, smiling gently when she heard Maria pestering Wanda for more details. She reached into the cupboard and reached for the last bottle of wine she had. “You owe me a bottle Natasha!” 

 

It took them hours to leave, but when Claire had finally cleared them out she started to clear up empty wine bottles and pizza boxes. It was always the same after a night with the girls - excessive drinking and greasy takeout pizza. She would always feel shitty afterwards, but it was worth it.   
She piled up the boxes by her trash can, glancing out of the window and down into the street. She noticed someone down by her car, crouched down beside one of the tyres for a few seconds. It looked like they were fiddling with something - their shoelace maybe. After a second they stood up, looking up and down the street before turning to look at her building. For a few seconds they looked along the rows of windows, obviously checking to see if anyone was watching. Suddenly, they froze, and Claire could see, even from that distance, that they’d tensed up. In a few seconds, they were running down the street, something glinting in their left hand as it caught the light from a streetlamp.

“Oh you have got to be kidding-” She sprinted for her door, hissing as she tripped over a pair of shoes. “Fucking shit!”  
Claire stumbled out into the street, and straight onto the bonnet of a nearby car as her head span. “Okay… take it slow, Claire…”

After taking a second to steady herself, she stood up properly and started down the street again, stumbling the other way and walking into the bushes lining her apartment building. “Oh… Okay, nevermind…”

She bent over slightly, taking a deep breath as she glanced up and watched him run down the road. “Dammit Barnes.”


End file.
